History MassEffect2AntagonistsAndNPCS / MainAntagonists

* BigBad: Prime antagonist for the main storyline of the second game, controlling the actions of his surrogates in much the same way as Sovereign did. [[spoiler:In ''Mass Effect 3'', it is revealed that he leads the Reapers, being the most powerful and oldest of them all]].

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* BigBad: Prime antagonist for the main storyline of the second game, controlling the actions of his surrogates in much the same way as Sovereign did. [[spoiler:In [[spoiler: {{Subverted}} in ''Mass Effect 3'', it is revealed that he leads the Reapers, 3''. Despite being the most powerful and oldest of them all]].all, he is just another pawn of the Catalyst]].

A two-kilometer-long Reaper orbiting the Brown Dwarf Mnemosyne. It maintained a mass effect field that kept it from falling into the failed star, but massive holes had been blasted and melted into parts of the hull and remain unrepaired. The only logical conclusion is that the Reaper "died" or was at least reduced to minimal functioning a long time ago.

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A two-kilometer-long Reaper orbiting the Brown Dwarf Mnemosyne. It maintained a mass effect field that kept it from falling into the failed star, but massive holes had been blasted and melted into parts of the hull and remain unrepaired. The only logical conclusion is that the Reaper "died" or was at least reduced to minimal functioning a long time ago. \n [[spoiler: According to Cerberus research, it was fatally damaged by fire from a mass accelerator weapon built by an unknown, long extinct species (presumably as [[DefiantToTheEnd a last act of defiance]] before the Reapers exterminated them)]].

* WalkingSpoiler: Simply realizing it's existence and that its nature infers it is ''a character'' is a spoiler in and of itself, as that's not revealed until after the attack on the Collector ship (more than halfway through the game, at minimum).

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* WalkingSpoiler: Simply realizing it's its existence and that its nature infers it is ''a character'' is a spoiler in and of itself, as that's not revealed until after the attack on the Collector ship (more than halfway through the game, at minimum).

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: You don't get to be the head honcho of an immortal race of sentient starships without knowing your enemy's plays. Shepard and Co. only survive one particularly devastating assault through sheer luck.** To be clear on how DangerouslyGenreSavvy Harbinger is, he [[WhyDontYaJustShootHim attacked and destroyed the Normandy with as much overwhelming force as he could muster, short of showing up personally, at the first opportunity]]. He was perfectly content to let his minions do his work for him while not risking himself at all. And he wanted [[NeverFoundTheBody undeniable proof]] that Shepard was dead, and would have gotten the body had the Illusive Man not intervened. Throughout ''VideoGame/MassEffect2'', he lays several traps for Shepard, first deliberately attacking Horizon, then using a "disabled" Collector ship as bait, and finally [[spoiler:with the Reaper IFF virus]] (and that last one got ''damn'' close). Even after [[spoiler: the Collectors are dead]], he has one last ace up his sleeve in the form of the Alpha Relay.** Learning from [[spoiler:Sovereign's]] mistake, he doesn't even so much as ''enter'' the same galaxy as Shepard while '''[[DemonicPossession ASSUMING DIRECT CONTROL]]''' of Collectors to fight him/her with.** He keeps it up in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3''; the first move the Reapers make is to steam straight towards Earth in the hopes of killing Shepard. [[spoiler:And then he slips up at the very end, when he forgets to check if Shepard is dead after [[{{BeamSpam}} Beam Spamming]] Hammer Fleet to death. To be fair, there was no way for Harbinger to check, and was probably aware Shepard survived and counted on The Illusive Man to finish him, which he very nearly did]].

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Averted, has his Collector goons simply destroy the ''Normandy'' and kill Shepard in the first ten minutes of the game. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy No drama, no gloating, just surprise and overwhelming firepower]]. ** [[BatmanGambit Then, regardless of whether or not Harbinger could have foreseen his/her resurrection by Cerberus]], [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy Harbinger has clearly read]] the EvilOverlordList as he attempted to verify Shepard's demise when he attempted to buy Shepard's body from the Shadow Broker. It didn't pan out, but he wanted proof and [[NeverFoundTheBody didn't just assume Shepard was dead]].

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* WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Averted, has his Collector goons simply destroy the ''Normandy'' and kill Shepard in the first ten minutes of the game. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy [[NoNonsenseNemesis No drama, no gloating, just surprise and overwhelming firepower]]. ** [[BatmanGambit Then, regardless of whether or not Harbinger could have foreseen his/her resurrection by Cerberus]], [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy Harbinger has clearly read]] read the EvilOverlordList as he attempted to verify Shepard's demise when he attempted to buy Shepard's body from the Shadow Broker. It didn't pan out, but he wanted proof and [[NeverFoundTheBody didn't just assume Shepard was dead]].

* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Even when nearly dead it trapped Shepard and their squad inside itself and it's heavily implied its sentience still existed in the Reaper IFF they took and successfully trapped the Normandy for the Collectors ''despite'' the many precautions the crew took.* DentedIron: It has this appearance. See NighInvulnerability below.

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* DangerouslyGenreSavvy: Even when nearly dead it trapped Shepard and their squad inside itself and it's heavily implied its sentience still existed in the Reaper IFF they took and successfully trapped the Normandy for the Collectors ''despite'' the many precautions the crew took.* DentedIron: It has this appearance. See NighInvulnerability below.

The name for Collector drones possessed by the General to fight Shepard directly. As revealed by the ending, however, [[spoiler:the Collector General himself is also possessed by Harbinger, who's actually a Reaper. If the ''Arrival'' DLC mission is done after the suicide mission, Shepard can have a brief conversation with it near the end. (If done ''before'' the suicide mission, Shepard talks with an image of the Collector General instead.) ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' (the ''Leviathan'' DLC, to be specific) further reveals that Harbinger is not just a Reaper -- ''he was the first'']].

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The name for Collector drones possessed by the General to fight Shepard directly. As revealed by the ending, however, [[spoiler:the the Collector General himself is also possessed by Harbinger, who's actually a Reaper. If the ''Arrival'' DLC mission is done after the suicide mission, Shepard can have a brief conversation with it near the end. (If done ''before'' the suicide mission, Shepard talks with an image of the Collector General instead.) ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'' (the ''Leviathan'' DLC, to be specific) further reveals that Harbinger is not just a Reaper -- ''he was the first'']].first''.

* NonstandardCharacterDesign: In universe, compared to other Reapers. Why Harbinger decided to create a Reaper to resemble a human and not Leviathan's species is unknown. Harbinger says that one species per cycle is cherrypicked to become a Reaper, but they all have the same form. It's ''possible'' that the "Leviathan" shape is a chassis that will surround the "fetus", but who knows?

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* NonstandardCharacterDesign: In universe, compared to other Reapers. Why Harbinger decided to create a Reaper to resemble a human and not Leviathan's species is unknown. Harbinger says that one species per cycle is cherrypicked to become a Reaper, but they all have the same form. It's ''possible'' that the "Leviathan" shape is a chassis that will surround the "fetus", but who knows?knows? In an earlier design, [[http://vignette1.wikia.nocookie.net/masseffect/images/7/7d/Wcb6ug.png/revision/latest?cb=20100522072721 the spine and arms would be three of the reaper tentacles, while the head would end up facing backwards]].

* TimeAbyss: Doctor studying states it has been in a damaged state for about 37 million years information he got from the Reaper indoctrination.

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* TimeAbyss: Doctor studying states it has been Chandana and his team establish that a race in a damaged state for about cycle 37 million years information ago managed to hole it with a mass effect supergun. It predates modern mammals, and apparently Harbinger didn't know it was still intact since he got from the Reaper indoctrination.never attempted to find and repair it, but it can still turn humans into various Husk-forms.

* NoNonsenseNemesis: Harbinger does not fuck around with Shepard. He has the Collectors ambush and kill Shepard in the first ten minutes of the second game and then spent years attempting to acquire his/her body to be completely sure that s/he's dead. Afterwards, he pulls all the stops and traps possible to kill Shepard again. This culminates in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', when he abandons the space battle over Earth to personally come down and blast Shepard himself.

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* NoNonsenseNemesis: Regardless of its many verbal taunts, Harbinger does not fuck around with Shepard. He has the Collectors ambush and kill Shepard in the first ten minutes of the second game and then spent years attempting to acquire his/her body to be completely sure that s/he's dead. Afterwards, he pulls all the stops and traps possible to kill Shepard again. This culminates in ''VideoGame/MassEffect3'', when he abandons the space battle over Earth to personally come down and blast Shepard himself.

* WhyDontYouJustShootHim:** Averted, has his Collector goons simply destroy the ''Normandy'' and kill Shepard in the first ten minutes of the game. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy No drama, no gloating, just surprise and overwhelming firepower]]. [[BatmanGambit Of course, there's not really much of a way that Harbinger could have foreseen his/her resurrection by Cerberus coming...]]** To be completely fair [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy Harbinger has clearly read]] the EvilOverlordList as he attempted to verify Shepard's demise when he attempted to buy Shepard's body from the Shadow Broker. It didn't pan out, but he wanted proof and [[NeverFoundTheBody didn't just assume Shepard was dead]].

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* WhyDontYouJustShootHim:** WhyDontYouJustShootHim: Averted, has his Collector goons simply destroy the ''Normandy'' and kill Shepard in the first ten minutes of the game. [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy No drama, no gloating, just surprise and overwhelming firepower]].** [[BatmanGambit Of course, there's Then, regardless of whether or not really much of a way that Harbinger could have foreseen his/her resurrection by Cerberus coming...]]** To be completely fair Cerberus]], [[DangerouslyGenreSavvy Harbinger has clearly read]] the EvilOverlordList as he attempted to verify Shepard's demise when he attempted to buy Shepard's body from the Shadow Broker. It didn't pan out, but he wanted proof and [[NeverFoundTheBody didn't just assume Shepard was dead]].

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